Transatlantic Cruise
Transatlantic Cruise on the Celebrity Equinox - Port Canaveral to Barcelona (April 19 - May 2)
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At Sea - Days 1-3
We took a 15 minute Uber ride from our Cocoa Beach condo to Port Canaveral and boarded the Celebrity Equinox and were able to go directly to our stateroom. If only all of our trip transfers and check-ins were this easy!
The Celebrity Equinox -1040 feet long carrying 2852 passengers and 1255 crew. Entered service in 2009
Our luggage was a little slow in arriving, but it showed up after we had left port. We had a balcony cabin, which is always nice, although the railings did look a bit worse for wear.
Kristine looking a little startled - still no luggage
The railings could have used some TLC but fortunately the rest of the ship was in better shape.
Once we had unpacked, we explored the ship, which by now was out to sea.
The Oceanview Restaurant - a cafeteria style dining room - open all hours
The main dining room - the Silhouette, where we ate most of our meals
After the first night, we changed tables and found a table for two, which we used almost every night for the rest of the cruise. The meals were actually pretty good.
The library, flanked by two elevators
The main lobby. There was entertainment most evenings and sometimes during the day, especially on sea days.
The Celebrity Theater, which offered a variety of entertainment. None of them were bad, but none of them were outstanding.
Day 4 - Bermuda
Our first port of call was Bermuda. This was my first visit to the island, but Kris had been there many years ago. We took a guided tour of the island on a small bus with 20 other tourists. The driver/guide was originally from London and he did a great job of showing us Bermuda's highlights.
The view of the docks area from our cabin balcony
Bermuda. The ship docked at the Dockyard at the top left of the island
Gibbs Hill lighthouse. which was opened in 1846. It's made of cast iron and has been upgraded several times since then.
The view from Signal Hill where the lighthouse is located. Our cruise ship can just be seen in the top left hand corner.
Bermuda is famous for it's pink sand beaches, of which this is one, although the pink sand is hard to see.
Maybe a little pinker ?
Their Majesties Chappell, St. Peter's Church in St George is the oldest surviving Anglican church in continuous use outside the British Isles
The interior of the church, parts of which date to 1620, although the building has been much expanded and improved since.
The main street of St George, the capital of Bermuda. A UNESCO World Heritage Site (together with related fortifications), St. George's Town is the oldest surviving English settlement in the New World
Days 4 through 8 - At Sea
We took a guided tour of the ship. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but this is the "official" photo they took on the bridge
Day 9 - Ponta Delgada, The Azores
Ponta Delgada from our balcony
We took a sightseeing tour of the island but the mountains were covered in fog and we couldn't see any of the beautiful views we had been promised. The town itself didn't appear terribly interesting so we finished our tour and went back to the ship.
Day 10 - At Sea
Day 11 - Cartagena
Our next stop was Cartagena on the Spanish mainland. It has a lot of history as it was a major roman city and there are many interesting buildings from that time period. We didn't take a tour, but walked around the city on our own. The center of the town is all pedestrianized.
Cartagena was an important port when the Spaniards were stealing gold from South America and there are still many wonderful buildings from that era.
Playing in the town square was what we assume was the local school brass band.
We popped into the Cathedral, built in the sixteenth century. Not the most interesting religious building that we saw on this trip.
Cathedral of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Cathedral of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
The highlight of our visit to Cartagena was the Roman Theatre. Built between the years 5 and 1 BCE, it had a capacity of some 6,000 spectators and was used for Roman theatrical performances during ancient Roman times.
A model of the theatre. Only part of the building has been excavated. Much of it is under modern buildings
Oo la la !
As we walked back to the ship, we passed a group wearing "traditional" clothing playing croquet. Not exactly sure who they were, but they certainly added color to the local scene.
Day 12 - At Sea
Day 13 - Palma, Mallorca
We had visited Mallorca before, both as kids and in 2016 as adults. The last time we visited, we spent a day in Palma but we couldn't remember much about our visit, so this time much of it seemed like we were seeing it for the first time.
The ship was moored some distance from the town, so a shuttle took us to the Cathedral.
It was started in 1327 and finished in the 17th century. Gaudi was asked to renovate the cathedral interior in 1903 but his work was controversial and his involvement ended in 1917. However, his influence on the current appearance of the interior is massive.
Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca
Although the interior was vaguely familiar, we enjoyed our visit and when we went back and looked at our blog, we had in fact visited the cathedral in 2016.
After leaving the cathedral we spent some time wandering around the old town and stopped for a drink. We were also fascinated by the shops selling nothing but Parma Ham.
After spending a couple of hours just enjoying the local scenery and good cup of coffee, we made our way back to the ship for our last night on board. We sailed that night for Barcelona, where we arrived early the next morning.
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